…“It pays to be the second or third try to create competition, as the pioneers always burn too much capital before they can get their platform working,” said Niki Beattie, head of Market Structure Partners, which advises brokers and exchanges. The new futures market could also be used to argue to regulators that the LSE acquisition will still allow for plenty of European competition, she said.

Still, Beattie has her doubts.

“There are so many hurdles to overcome en route to building liquidity,” she said. “You have to have a core group of people ready to go live at the same time.”…